


she had it all in her hands, and watched it all turn to sand

by coatylbutter



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: A bit more boring than what I normally do, Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Gen, Just wanted to write about shelby to be honest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24675118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coatylbutter/pseuds/coatylbutter
Summary: The limelight fades after a while, as people stop caring.
Relationships: no you nasties
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29
Collections: victors' tower (stories from floor 6)





	she had it all in her hands, and watched it all turn to sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WreakingHavok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WreakingHavok/gifts).



> A bit boring compared to what I usually write, but there's very little established stuff for floor 2 so I wanted to mess around, plus I wanted to write for Shubble because she was part of my childhood.
> 
> Title is an edited lyric from Holy the Sea from Forgive Durden (I just changed the pronouns haha) I've never heard the full musical(?) I just found the song from a Warrior Cats MAP.

Shelby wasn’t a particularly well-remembered victor. Hell- most victors are forgotten after a decade. Or four. The limelight fades after a while as people stop caring. But she didn’t particularly care. She was never the most popular, others would get more views. She pulled enough numbers that her name never faded into complete obscurity- but it never made its way into the spotlight.

She never expected to actually be put into the games. Shelby was 17, basically done with the games, not to mention she was from a career district. So when her name was called, she had expected someone to shout out “I volunteer as tribute” or- something.

But nobody did. No shout to try and be a victor, just the silence of the crowd as they all turned to look right at her. Somewhere between her silent walk up to the stage and actually being shuttled off to the Capitol, she decided that she was already dead. Not in a bad, woe-is-me type way, more of an “If I’m already dead, might as well try to win. Nothing to lose.” She’d either be right, or alive. Either one was okay with her.

She wasn’t completely incompetent- she was from District 4, after all. Shelby knew the basics of archery and had a vague grasp on how to handle knives. Seeing others train as she went about her life, picking up on little tricks from what friends would say, watching the games as a child, some things were bound to stick in her brain. 

But despite the fact Shelby knew this stuff in theory, she was still very jumpy. And clumsy. And loud. When her mentor tried to train with her, she always squealed as he threw knives for her to dodge (Funny, how she later learned how to harness those knives to her best advantage.)

Oh, her mentor. Shelby knew him from back when they were both young, they was a career, and had volunteered for their game. They were two- maybe three (she didn't bother keeping track) years older than her. She would sometimes see them train when she went on walks, but they weren't exactly friends. Acquaintances at most, at least before The Reaping.

She had gotten a mediocre, slightly below average training score. A five, not enough to get sponsor’s attention, but not enough to show her off as an easy kill. She fully expected to make it halfway at most.

But she won. Shelby, now Shubble, had won the 26th Hunger Games. Somehow, someway, she was the last one standing. Victor number 26. That number didn't sound real to her.

Having the same schedule for 40 years got monotonous. She had housemates, but you could only have the same conversations so many times before you got tired. That wasn’t to say she didn’t like her friends! Shelby loved cooking with Poki and chatting with Fit about his Minecraft server (even if she didn’t quite understand) and listening to Austin record his shows. It just got really boring after a while.

Streaming was actually the highlight of her day, even if she didn’t pull as many numbers as more recent victors. Even if only a few thousand were there, it was usually a different experience each time, and she lived for a taste of color in a life of monochrome. 

Watching the games was also something she made a habit of. Maybe it was the boredom, or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't shake that she had grown up in a District where the games were everything. Whatever it was, she watched the games. Her housemates all seemed to dislike watching the games, but she'd blocked out all the stuff from her game long ago. It was easier to watch if you were disconnected. 

She still tried to remember their names. She didn’t mind being forgotten, but not everyone was okay with that.

So for her game and every game after, Shelby tried her best to remember the names of the victors, and any of the tributes she could, but 959 names- she’d done the math- were a lot to keep track of. She felt guilty every time she forgot a name, but she never liked going on the wikis to check. The wikis creeped her out. 

The only other break in the monotony of Floor 2’s daily schedule was the damned parties the Capitol threw. She didn’t bother keeping track, but it felt like there were more to attend each year.

This party- a welcoming ceremony for Victor 66- was just another break in the greys of her life. Not a happy break- welcoming ceremonies actually made her kind of angry, symbolizing a new victor. (Killer. But you’re no better, she thought to herself. Huh. Shelby thought she'd finished with blocking all of those out ages ago.) They were always so nervous.

At least the food was good. She’d been standing in front of this dessert table, deciding between the chocolate cake or the strawberry, for maybe three minutes when a voice shook her out of her head

“Excuse me, ma’am, you’re blocking the cake.” Shelby stepped aside as soon as she recognized someone was behind her and was turning to go to some other dessert table, but then she stopped to actually take a look at who had asked her to move.

Victor 60, Carson King. Before she could register what she was saying, she had already spoken out

“Oh, you’re the one from Game 60!” He looked back at her and quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am. You are?” Shelby half-smiled. How polite, he was asking about her. He likely thought she was just some Capitol Citizen, but he was still engaging in a conversation.

“Shubble, Victor of Game 26. Nice to meet you.” As Shelby held out her hand for him to shake, she didn't miss the way his eyes slightly widened in his realization that she was a victor like him. It was so quick, she likely wouldn’t have noticed it if she wasn’t looking right at him. To his credit, he regained composure rather quickly and as he shook her hand, replied

“Oh, I’ll have to check out your channel sometime.” How considerate of him.

“That’s okay, you don't have to” A pause, as on a whim Shelby picked up a slice of chocolate cake. She went to turn away, but as she went to walk back to her friends, she muttered under her breath, quiet enough that Carson might only possibly hear

“I don’t mind being forgotten.”


End file.
